Thanks to one of our wonderful PE teachers who watched my class, I was able to be there for Sasha’s ice cream party and awards ceremony this past week.  She is in a special social-emotional learning class, so these awards sound a little different than what we are used to.  Sasha got the honesty award.  When she told me about the possible awards she could get, I knew right away she’d get that one.  She will literally tell on herself, silly goose.  She was so happy to get this award, and her teachers were happy for her, too (a big thank you to them for an unforgettable year)!

Honesty.  How can we be honest and yet diplomatic?  How can we be honest and kind?  I think I tend to be too diplomatic until I lose my cool, and then look out!  How can we diplomatic and yet speak assertively and powerfully AND with kindness?  This week, I read several stories about people who did not speak kindly, to put it mildly.  I get it actually.  There is so much wrong in this world, it’s hard to keep it together and not lash out.  As a teacher, I really know it.  Two weeks ago, a student with some serious emotional issues was screaming “I hate you” as the class sat in stunned silence (I had asked him to be quiet) and he just kept screaming and screaming until someone finally came to get him, at which point I muttered “The feeling is mutual right now.”  How much can one person take?

And yet we are asked to be perfect as our Father is perfect.  A tall order when things around us are not so perfect.  How can we stay cool under intense circumstances?

Another excellent PE teacher at our school shared with us a packet about how to stay healthy (read:Sane): focus on mindset, exercise, diet, and sleep.  This past week, my students finished their project (“Healthy Me”) on these four components.  We talked about our attitude and thoughts, discussing positive self-talk and examples of affirmations.  We emphasized the importance of gratitude, and we wrote thank you letters to our favorite fine arts/PE teachers. We talked about our favorite types of exercises and how mornings are actually the best times to work out.  We went over what is considered a healthy diet in different cultures.  Finally, we talked about why sleep is important and how many hours we’re supposed to get a night.

The bottom line—it’s more likely that we can speak kindly and be our best selves if we’re thinking positively, working out, eating healthy food, and getting enough sleep.  Note: none of these components have anything to do with changing anyone else (though I may try anyway).  We are just trying to improve ourselves.

So, that’s my plan for the last week of school.  Just focus on being my best self so that I can speak honesty and kindly, to my students, and to my own kids.  Please pray for us!